When we read about independence, we associate it with qualities like: “Free from the influence, guidance, or control of another or others; self-reliant” True independence was woven into our fabric as an early pioneer of donor advised funds (DAF) over 36 years ago. This independence allows us to focus on, and act in, your clients’ [...]
America is experiencing a growing interest in genealogy. There are even TV shows on the subject, and one common theme is that our memory and knowledge of family is fragile. We’re lucky if it extends three generations. Do you know your parents’ cousins’ children? Why is it that family ties so easily come undone? Part [...]
A report published in 2012 by Pew Research Center shows that fully 50% of successful individuals worry that their children, or other heirs, do not have the proper financial skills to handle inherited wealth. If half are concerned about this, it’s likely that the other half should be. In 1877, when Cornelius Vanderbilt died, he [...]
Are your kids suffering from too well off syndrome? If so, how do you turn things around? You, like so many successful individuals, have a nagging concern about teaching your children and grandchildren the mindset and skills to handle the challenges that come with inherited wealth. Simply growing up watching you make sound financial decisions [...]
“Choose well. Your choice is brief, and yet endless.” ~Goethe What does the word “legacy” mean to you? Most people, when asked this question might say that legacy refers to what a person leaves behind, such as wealth and other assets. While this is a part of what makes up a person’s legacy, this perception [...]
How do you define success? Ask 10 different people this question and you’re likely to get 10 different definitions. The typical dictionary definition characterizes success as “an accomplishment of a goal or purpose.” While this is true, by necessity it leaves out details individuals like you and me associate with a successful life. The missing [...]
Hazel Van Dyke Patterson One October day 34 years ago my mother was a vibrant 71-year-old who loved to bowl and visit friends. The next she was gone. Only it didn’t seem like it. In many ways she was still with me, and from time to time I would find myself talking to [...]
As you may already know, a donor advised fund (DAF) is a charitable giving vehicle sponsored by a public charity. When your clients establishes a donor advised fund with iGiftFund, they are dealing with an entity recognized by the IRS as a public charity that "sponsors" the DAF. At iGiftFund, we hold ourselves as not [...]
We all leave a legacy that has nothing to do with the assets that comprise our estate. We can have absolutely nothing, no material possessions at the end of our life, and still we have a legacy. That legacy is our story and our values. Those are what we pass on to our children and [...]
We’ve all heard the expression Shirtsleeves to shirtsleeves in three generations—one generation accumulates the money and the next two spend it down to zero or thereabouts. Shirtsleeves-to-shirtsleeves seems to put the blame for dissipating the family wealth on the backs of the children and grandchildren. But is that the only place it belongs? If the [...]